


Downpour

by Komoru



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Astraphobia, Comfort, Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Freeform, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2020-04-06 16:02:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19065946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Komoru/pseuds/Komoru
Summary: Ren learns to love August and its thunderstorms, if only for moments like this.





	Downpour

August was Ren’s favorite month.

There was just something about it that made it special. Maybe it was because it was the start of fall. Trees began changing colors, turning into vibrant shades of red. The air felt cool and crisp during this time, and it was refreshing every time he stepped outside. There was also the very satisfying crunching sound that came from stepping on fallen leaves.

But his most favorite thing was the rain.

Rain during August was soothing. And maybe that was odd to some people, since August brought in most of the torrential rain that Japan saw. But Ren didn’t mind it. He found the sounds of the thunder and harsh raindrops relaxing.

It drowned out the rest of the world, like the only thing he could hear was the thunder and rain. Some days he would read, others he would watch a movie. There were sometimes he stood outside under a porch or a suspended canopy just to feel the effects of a storm.

And since he had come to Tokyo, Ren learned to appreciate the rain even more.

Back in his hometown, whenever there was a serve storm, the town seemed to shut down. The local, family owned businesses always closed shop for the day and returned home if they knew a storm was brewing. The streets seemed bare, and the only signs of life were the lights from the large department store and neighborhoods. Here in Tokyo, life didn’t stop.

People didn’t slow down. The serve weather didn’t deter people from traveling or walking to the convenience store. It didn’t stop people from going to work and didn’t shut down businesses. Despite the weather, Tokyo was still alive. Ren came to appreciate that. While he liked the silence back home, there was something comforting about the bright and busy life in Tokyo during the rainy season.

That was especially true for this day.

Ren watched as the world outside the window in Leblanc started to turn gray. The sky didn’t show any signs of sunlight, and sure enough, the rain was pouring down. It didn’t take long for the thunder to follow. And soon enough, the weather morphed into a strong thunderstorm. But the life in Tokyo didn’t slow down. The lights in the city were still bright, and the sounds of passing cars and sirens were loud.

Normally, Ren wouldn’t have minded the severe weather. He would have welcomed the storm. Maybe read a book or two while listening to the rain. But this were different. It was different because of who he was with.

He looked off to his side. Sitting in the booth beside him was Makoto. Her eyes were glued to her notebook, but a drop of sweat dripped down the side of her face. Her hand shook slightly as she jolted down notes, and she was biting her lip. Sprawled before them were notebooks and textbooks alike. Many of the notebooks were Makoto’s. Ren had his single notebook off to the side of the table. The couple had planned a study date the day prior. Despite the weather warnings, Makoto still came over. The two of them had studied the afternoon away, and the evening was rapidly approaching.

When Ren asked if she was sure about the study date, Makoto said, “W-We haven’t really had much time together. With Futaba’s palace and all, I… I would really like to spend some time with you.”

It was rare for Makoto to be bold. How could have Ren denied her? And it wasn’t like she was wrong either. Between learning about Futaba and teaching her some basic social skills, the two barely had any time together alone.

The two of them had started dating for real just earlier in the month. They were discovering more little things about each other. The things that worked for them, and the things that didn’t. What made her laugh, or what made her spiral into one of her thoughtful rambles. Ren was figuring out her little signs, too. When she wanted to talk, or when she just wanted to study. Makoto was slowly figuring out his signals as well. When he was too stressed or running himself thin with errands and appointments. She kept him grounded and reminded him that he needed to take care of himself, too.

Those little moments of discovery were precious to Ren, and he wanted more opportunities to find them.

He had asked Sojiro and Morgana if he could have the evening alone with Makoto.

Sojiro had no problems with it, he had plans to close shop early anyway to return home before the storm hit.

Morgana took a little more convincing, and he felt a little bad for shooing the not-cat away. But with a promise of some fatty tuna later, he agreed to stay the night with Futaba instead.

A crack of thunder lit up the sky, and Makoto tensed up around her mechanical pencil. If her pencil had been wooden, Ren was certain she would have snapped it in half.

Ren put aside his notebook down and placed his hand over Makoto’s, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. Her tension faded away ever so slightly, but another boom of thunder brought it right back.

Makoto stopped trying to write the rest of her notes. She scooched closer to Ren and brushed up against his shoulder, turning towards him.

“Can… can we move upstairs, perhaps?” She murmured. Her other hand came up to grip his sleeve.

On one hand, Ren felt his heart flutter in his chest. Makoto was too adorable right now. Her eyes didn’t meet his, but she was close enough that he could see them under her bangs. She cast them downward, avoiding looking out the window at all costs. Her lips were pressed in a line and she bit her bottom lip every few seconds. It was really too adorable.

But on the other hand, Ren felt sorry for her and his heart swelled. She was absolutely terrified of the storm outside.

It was always rare to see Makoto like this. She was usually calm and collected. It made her a good strategist and great ally. In the midst of battle, she could calmly figure out a Shadow’s weakness and point it out to the team.

But, as of right now, Makoto was scared. She was anxious, as she feared the storm outside. The thunder obviously struck a cord with her nerves. Ren remembered seeing her once like this before, back when they first met Futaba at her and Sojiro’s house. She had the same look on her face.

Another loud crack ripped through the sky, and this time Makoto jumped in her seat. She pressed herself firmly against Ren’s side and hid her face in his neck.

“I’msorryI’msorryI’msorry can we please head upstairs?” Makoto cried.

Under normal circumstances, he would have blushed right then and there. He would have said something about her hair tickling his neck. But now was not the time. Ren offered her a small smile and brought her into a hug. He nodded against her.

“Of course. Come on, let’s take a break for a bit and watch some TV or something.”

Makoto nodded numbly against his shoulder, moving out of the booth. She clutched his sleeve as he walked them towards the stairs.

Before they could ascend to the attic, another flash of thunder that roared outside the café. There was an audible _click_. Multiple things happened at once. The refrigerator stopped making noises, the lights above head snapped off, and the light from the window ceased to exist.

The two froze at the base of the staircase. They both looked at each other, then outside.

The street light that was normally lit outside Leblanc was dark. And the rest of the street was covered in darkness as well.

Ren saw Makoto start to slide down. He quickly caught her by the shoulders, slowing down to the floor with her.

“Makoto? Hey, Makoto?” Ren asked, gently shaking his girlfriend’s shoulders.

She was frozen on the floor, legs sprawled out beside her. Her eyes were shut tightly, and she flung herself into Ren’s chest the moment he was on the ground.

The storm continued to rage outside, and she tensed up at every flash of thunder.

“I’m sorry I’m so sorry please forgive me for being like this I’m so sorry I’m-“ Makoto rambled on, shaking her head against his chest.

His heart beat loudly against his chest. Ren felt a surge of protectiveness over her. He didn’t judge her for her fear, or the way she was acting. If anything, he wanted to somehow will the storm away for Makoto’s sake.

But, since that was out of his power, Ren decided to try and get Makoto upstairs and away from any large windows.

He rubbed her back a little bit and nodded up the stairs, giving her a warm smile. He didn’t want to break contact with her, feeling as though that was the only thing keeping her grounded.

“It’s okay, Makoto. It’s okay. You’re safe, I promise. Come on, let’s get upstairs.” Ren said softly.

The girl before him didn’t remove her face from his chest. A few moments passed, and after another thunder rumbled through the sky, she nodded against his shirt.

Makoto stood on shaky legs, and step by step, the two made it up the stairs and into the attic.

It was dark upstairs, but the window was a little smaller, and there was room to stay further away from it. Ren scanned the room, squinting through the darkness. He thought for a moment what the best plan of action was.

An idea formulated in his head, and Ren turned to Makoto. She hadn’t removed her face from his chest, but her grip had loosened on his sleeve. He pulled himself away from her briefly, and made her look at him, bringing her chin up with his hand.

Wide, red eyes looked up to him anxiously. And Ren gave her a gentle smile.

“Let me move some things around, okay?”

Makoto blinked at him, confused as to what his plan was. She nodded regardless and stepped back from him. She let his hand go last, then wrapped her arms around herself loosely.

It took a couple of minutes, but Ren finally adjusted the room the way he wanted. He pushed his space heater out of the way, making room in the corner opposite to the windows. Then, Ren slowly dragged the futon across the room slightly. It was weird seeing such an empty space between his TV and his work station.

Once he got it situated in the corner, Ren pulled the covers from his make-shift bed and another from his storage boxes, then the lone pillow in his room. Makoto watched him the entire time, eyes following him across the room. She settled upon him and the futon, now furthest away from the window possible.

Ren sat himself down on the futon in the corner, spreading the blankets out and reached out a hand for her. He smiled and urged her to sit down next to him.

If Ren didn’t know any better, he could have sworn Makoto had tears forming in the corners of her eyes. But she took a few steps towards him. Another crack of thunder made her jump the last few, quickly finding her place next to Ren. She curled up next to him on the futon, bringing her legs up.

Once the two were settled under the blankets, Ren pulled out his phone and looked through the news. He frowned upon reading.

“It sounds like a lot of residential areas got hit bad. We may not have power for the rest of the night.” Ren said.

Makoto stayed silent against his side. She had her phone out as well, tapping away at the screen. A moment passed, and she set her phone aside on the futon, then brought the blanket up to her chest.

She didn’t seem to be in a mood to talk, and Ren let the silence hang between them. Maybe Makoto just wanted the comfort, and Ren was more than willing to provide it. He brought his feet up to the futon as well, then adjusted both himself and Makoto so they were somewhat laying comfortably on their sides. Ren could just make out Makoto’s face under the night’s light. He made sure that Makoto had her back to the window, then covered the both of them with the blanket, making an attempt to make them both comfortable.

There were no objections from Makoto. She avoided looking him in the eye, and there was a blush covering her cheeks. Ren couldn’t help but smile at the sight. It was that moment that Ren realized just how small Makoto looked.

She was a little shorter than Ren and held a slim figure. But Makoto had a strong personality that made her intimidating, especially when her friends were in danger. His mind wandered back to the whole Eiko situation, and how she showed no hesitation in confronting Tsukasa. Hell, she even slapped Eiko when she refused to accept the truth.

But right now, Makoto looked like a frightened child. The storm was really getting to her. Thunder and lightning were enough to break through Makoto’s tough shell. And while Ren didn’t want to press for details, he couldn’t help but wonder why. He understood that people did fear thunderstorms, but this was along the lines of a true phobia.

Makoto shifted beside him, bringing herself closer and hesitantly brought herself to look Ren in the eyes.

“I-I’m sorry about tonight. I, um, I really didn’t mean to lose my composure.” She flinched when she heard another thunder crack. Ren reached out to brush a strand of hair out of her face, gently running his thumb over her cheek, as if to comfort her.

She seemed to relax slightly under the touch, and captured his hand with hers, intertwining their fingers.

Makoto sighed in defeat.

“I… ruined our date, didn’t I? I’m so sorry.”

Ren shook his head and moved close, so their foreheads were touching. The gesture brought another blush to her face, which was adorably satisfying.

“You didn’t ruin anything, Makoto. If I’m being honest, I’d much rather do this than study. But… you know, we could have rescheduled for another day. I wouldn’t have minded.”

Makoto frowned and dipped her head down. Her face was unreadable at this angle. At first, Ren thought he had said something wrong. She didn’t reply immediately. But, she softly spoke up after a moment.

“C-Can I be honest with you?”

“Always, Makoto.”

“. . .I knew there was a chance I could get stuck here while the storm was going on. B-But I don’t mind, because, well… Sis isn’t coming home tonight, she’s working overtime. And I, um, didn’t really… want to be alone tonight. Not with the storm.”

She stiffened against him and shut her eyes.

“You must think I’m childish for being so scared of a storm… and that I didn’t want to be alone.”

Immediately, Ren drew her closer. She squealed at the sudden movement. He set his chin on top of her head, and then gently rubbed her arm in idle patterns.

“I don’t think you’re childish.” He said.

Makoto drew away from him, so she could meet his eyes. Hers were filled with disbelief.  

“R-Really?”

He flashed her a grin.

“I actually think you’re cute when you’re like this.”

“Ren!” Makoto cried, lightly hitting him on the chest. His laugh filled the room and he drew her close, touching foreheads once again. She flustered under his grip and looked at him with a pout.

“Sorry, sorry. I couldn’t help but tease you.” He smiled down at her fondly. “But, seriously, I don’t think less of you because you’re afraid of a thunderstorm. You’re not childish for having a fear. Everyone is afraid of something.”

Makoto held his gaze, mouth open slightly in surprise. Ren could hardly make out her features in the dim lighting, but she appeared to relax slightly against him. She tucked her head into his chest.

“I-I still feel bad. I’m not even strong enough to handle a storm on my own.”

“Makoto, you’re not weak because you don’t like thunderstorms. You’re _human,_ a human with a real fear. It’s okay. And you’re safe here.” Ren brought his hand up to pet her head, running his hand through her hair. She continued to relax into him and eventually settled down.

The couple listened to the sounds of the storm outside for a few minutes. Makoto tensed every now and then when the thunder was loud. But every time, Ren made sure to hold her close. Sometimes he rubbed her arm, other times he set his chin on her head and let her nuzzle closer to him.

Eventually, the storm settled. It was still pouring outside, and thundering. Definitely not good conditions for Makoto to be traveling to the train station.

The silence between them was comfortable, but Makoto was the first to break it.

“Hey… thank you.”

Ren drew back a bit, just enough to see her face. He gave her the warmest smile.

“Anytime, Makoto.” He brushed his thumb over her cheek again. “Do you feel a bit better?”

She nodded lightly and lifted her head just enough to fully meet his gaze.

“A little bit.”

He let the silence run between them for a little while, just allowing Makoto to nuzzle up to him in his arms. She was much more relaxed in his arms. The thunderstorm outside still clearly unnerved her, sometimes startling when there was a very loud crack outside. But she seemed much more relaxed.

Sometime later, Makoto spoke again.

“I really appreciate this, you know.” She said quietly.

Ren hummed in response. “Anything for you, Queen.”

Makoto smiled a little bit. She closed her eyes and sighed.

“. . .I’ve always feared thunderstorms. Ever since I was a child. I remember my father used to comfort me. He used to build a fort of blankets just for us in the living room.”

She laughed a little at the memory.

“He pushed together the chair and couch together, then draped the blankets over everything. We would stay under there for hours, just in our own little blanket fort world. We would read books or watch some movies. Sometimes even Sis would join us. It helped me forget about the storm. Kind of what you’re doing. So, thank you for that, Ren.”

He drew back from her slightly and kissed the top of her head.

“Hey, of course. What kind of a boyfriend would I be if I just let you go through these storms alone?”

Makoto laughed lightly and looked up at him.

“Probably a normal boyfriend. But you’ve been a wonderful boyfriend so far. Thank you, Ren.”

Now it was his turn to blush. It was rare for Ren to get flustered, but the honesty in Makoto’s voice was enough to do it. He leaned down towards her and looked into her eyes. The storm outside seemed to be drowned out, and it was just two of them in the moment. His eyes briefly looked at her lips, then back at her eyes.

“Then, as your wonderful boyfriend, can I ask you something?”

Makoto locked her eyes with his. She seemed to pick up on his signal and lifted her head up a little more.

“Yes, Ren?”

“Can I kiss you?”

She held his gaze for a long moment, searching for something within his eyes. He felt anxious, despite having the words roll of his tongue. Perhaps it was too soon, or maybe he was too late? They had been truly dating for just about a month. Maybe he should have asked sooner.

Ren felt like it was an eternity later when Makoto replied. The blush crept back up onto her face, and she let out a breath.

“Yes.”

With the permission granted, Ren slowly closed the distance between them.

The kiss was soft and sweet. There weren’t any sparks that flew between them, or hands being thrown in each other’s hair. Instead, Ren just felt _warmth_.

He could feel Makoto against him, and the way her hands gripped at his shirt. He could feel her relax against him, he could feel her return the kiss just as softly. She was hesitant at first but eased into the kiss and smiled against his lips.

Ren parted from Makoto, eyes fluttering open as he looked down at her. His heart exploded in his chest with the way she was looking at him.

Her worries and anxieties seemed to melt away, and she only saw him.

Makoto let out a heavenly sigh and nuzzled her face into his chest. Ren reacted by pulling her closer, then wrapped the blankets around them loosely.

The storm outside had started to subside, but Ren made no attempt to leave. He didn’t want to disturb the moment. He didn’t want to disturb Makoto, who had started to drift off to sleep. He didn’t want August to end, not if it was filled with precious moments like this.

Ren stayed awake for a couple of minutes after, listening to Makoto’s steady breathing. The day caught up with him eventually, and sleep was creeping up on him. His eyelids felt heavy, and he stopped resisting the weight. He closed his eyes and sighed into Makoto’s hair, breathing her in one last time before allowing sleep to finally take him.

**Author's Note:**

> Do I have other ideas that are a WIP I should be working on?
> 
> Yup.
> 
> Did I work on this one shot instead of working on those?
> 
> You bet'cha.
> 
> Did I intend for this to go past 1k words?
> 
> Nope.
> 
> I'm trying to be a little more brave and posting fics and whatnot to improve. I'm taking a creative writing class this semester so I need to get back into the swing of things, what better way than to write pure fluff?
> 
> I had the idea for a while now, and the other day there was a severe thunderstorm in my area that sort of fueled the muse. So I wrote this in about a day's time. And it's nothing but pure fluff about Makoto being scared in a thunderstorm and Ren being there to comfort her.
> 
> I actually did some research into the game's weather dates. August seemed to have the most torrential downpours out of any other month. And then this came to be. 
> 
> Makoto and Ren are fun to write, but I'm still trying to completely grasp Ren's personality. He didn't talk much in this but had a lot of thoughts instead. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! Feedback is appreciated, especially since it was my first time attempting something more fluffy. I love talking about writing and theories/headcanons regarding characters, especially Ren and Makoto. I have so many ideas and AUs for other one-shots or a short multichapter fic regarding Shumako send help.
> 
> PS: I don't know how to completely write 'romantic scenes'. It was technically my first time writing a kiss scene and I sort of drew from my own experiences for this.


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